In my childhood, parents used to take me to different weddings and marriages. At that time, I only went along with them for the food. Reception food is always grand and delicious. Nowadays, I go to weddings to meet long-lost friends and relatives. In a typical Tambrahm wedding, the reception is usually on the eve of marriage day or it is on the evening of the marriage day. The preparations for the 2-day(sometimes 3) marriage ceremony start months before. The "eligible" bachelor's parents start sending out jathakams(horosccopes) and advertise in every possible media that their son has reached a marriageable age and is ready to accept any proposals from eligible women.
Last week, I attended my cousin's marriage. It was a not-so-typical Tambrahm wedding. My cousin met his bride in the USA when he was doing his MS. They liked each other and since they were reaching a marriageable age, they decided to get married. The parents agreed and the marriage was arranged. They got engaged and the engagement ceremony was held through skype. They were in California at that time, the ceremony was held in Chennai at around 5:00pm when it was around 4:30 am in California. I was watching all the proceedings through a stream from Bangalore. So the ceremony was modern yet traditional or as I like to term it- mod-trad.
The wedding was held in Chennai because skype cannot be the answer for everything. Days before the marriage, my brother(cousin) went out with her a few times or as the westerners like to call it, they went on a few dates. The preparations in their homes went in a typical way with both the parties buying dresses, ornaments, saris for each other. The bride and the bridegroom spent thousands to get a makeover. Relatives from distant places arrived at their house to stay for the wedding and after the wedding.
On the eve of the marriage, they had a ceremony called reception. The bride and the groom stand on stage and people flock onto the stage to shower them with gifts and blessings. The general rule is that they stand alongside the couple and pose for pictures. This ritual is usually accompanied by a musical performance. After their plastic smiles get plastered on negative films, they will be ushered by the parents to devour the food provided for them. The food is a mixture of all popular Indian foods and it is usually completed with an ice-cream along with an Indian specialty sweet. These guests, when they start leaving is interrogated by their hosts about the food and they have to keep repeating that they had their fill and the food was excellent even though it is not.
The next day is called muhurtam day. This is the day when the main ceremony happens. This went on in a traditional way and nothing out of ordinary happened here. I don't want to go on with the details but the two families who are modern yet traditional came together in the event of marriage and blessed their children.
This is what I call a 'Mod-Trad' Tambrahm family and I think I belong to that category too.
Last week, I attended my cousin's marriage. It was a not-so-typical Tambrahm wedding. My cousin met his bride in the USA when he was doing his MS. They liked each other and since they were reaching a marriageable age, they decided to get married. The parents agreed and the marriage was arranged. They got engaged and the engagement ceremony was held through skype. They were in California at that time, the ceremony was held in Chennai at around 5:00pm when it was around 4:30 am in California. I was watching all the proceedings through a stream from Bangalore. So the ceremony was modern yet traditional or as I like to term it- mod-trad.
The wedding was held in Chennai because skype cannot be the answer for everything. Days before the marriage, my brother(cousin) went out with her a few times or as the westerners like to call it, they went on a few dates. The preparations in their homes went in a typical way with both the parties buying dresses, ornaments, saris for each other. The bride and the bridegroom spent thousands to get a makeover. Relatives from distant places arrived at their house to stay for the wedding and after the wedding.
On the eve of the marriage, they had a ceremony called reception. The bride and the groom stand on stage and people flock onto the stage to shower them with gifts and blessings. The general rule is that they stand alongside the couple and pose for pictures. This ritual is usually accompanied by a musical performance. After their plastic smiles get plastered on negative films, they will be ushered by the parents to devour the food provided for them. The food is a mixture of all popular Indian foods and it is usually completed with an ice-cream along with an Indian specialty sweet. These guests, when they start leaving is interrogated by their hosts about the food and they have to keep repeating that they had their fill and the food was excellent even though it is not.
The next day is called muhurtam day. This is the day when the main ceremony happens. This went on in a traditional way and nothing out of ordinary happened here. I don't want to go on with the details but the two families who are modern yet traditional came together in the event of marriage and blessed their children.
This is what I call a 'Mod-Trad' Tambrahm family and I think I belong to that category too.
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